He was born on the tough streets of Kensington, ended up with a career in the CIA, and in between he put together a Hall of Fame soccer career.

Len Oliver is our guest on this special edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show, a look at the history of soccer in the Delaware Valley.

KYW’s Greg Orlandini and Philly Soccer Page editor Ed Farnsworth talk about a number of subjects with Oliver.

In part one, Oliver tells us he learned the game from his Scottish-immigrant father, and honed his skills with other kids of Irish, English, and German descent on the streets of Philadelphia.

Oliver won two youth national titles with Lighthouse Boys Club in 1948 and 1949 before moving on to Temple University. Oliver would pick up silverware at Temple, winning two national titles with the Owls in 1951 and 1953.

He then turned pro, playing for the Philadelphia Uhrik Truckers before being drafted into the Army.

Author: Greg Orlandini
By day, Greg is an editor for KYW, the region’s highest rated radio station. Once a week, he enters the studio to interview some of the top names in soccer. Outside of covering the beautiful game, Greg is the bassist for the local band Zer0. Follow him on Twitter @GFO1025.